Feminine hygiene device

ABSTRACT

A FEMININE HYGIENE DEVICE COMPRISING A TAPERING BODY PORTION CONNECTING INTO AN ELONGATED DISCHARGE TUBE, WITH THE BODY PORTION INCLUDING A LIP WHEREBY IN USE URINE IS DIRECTED INTO THE BODY PORTION TO BE DISCHARGED THROUGH THE TUBE, WITH THE LIP BEING POSITIONED AGAINST THE BODY TO THE REAR IN ORDER TO PREVENT ANY BACKWARD DRIPPING OF URINE.

Oct. 19, 1971 oss ETAL 3,613,122

FEMININE HYGIENE DEVICE Filed June 23, 1970 INVENTORS 7 PHYLLIS M. GROSS 2o ANTON F. G 088 BY c @mma CAM.

ATTORN United States Patent 01 lice Patented Oct. 19, 1971 3,613,122 FEMININE HYGIENE DEVICE Anton F. Gross and Phyllis M. Gross, both of 216 Spackenhill Road, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12603 Filed June 23, 1970, Ser. No. 49,063 Int. Cl. A61g 9/00; A61f /44; E03d 13/00,- A47k 11/12 US. Cl. 4110 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A feminine hygiene device comprising a tapering body portion connecting into an elongated discharge tube, with the body portion including a lip whereby in use urine is directed into the body portion to be discharged through the tube, with the lip being positioned against the body to the rear in order to prevent any backward dripping of urine.

This invention relates to a feminine hygiene device and has as its objective the provision of a new and improved device for this general class.

There are certain problems connected with female urination which have existed since the beginning of time and which have never been successfully solved. Heretofore, there have been certain suggestions relating to various feminine hygiene devices which would permit a woman to urinate from a standing position while eliminating the need for wiping the vaginal area. Typical of such devices are those found in US. Pat. Nos. 2,878,486, 1,510,973 and 1,407,872. However, for one reason or another these devices have caused almost as many problems as they hope to'solve.

The present invention has particular use for women who wish to avoid contact with the seats of public restrooms, on camping trips when sanitary facilities are not available, for roadside stops when travelling with children, when clothing design makes disrobing in order to urinate impractical, in sickrooms in lieu of a bedpan, for the taking of urine samples or in any other situations wherein a woman would otherwise have to sit, squat or come in contact with unsanitary facilities in order to urinate.

It is a prime object of the present invention to provide a feminine hygiene device which will be sanitary, both in' avoiding contact with lavatory facilities and in keeping the vaginal area clean and dry, as well as permitting a woman to urinate without disrobing or where lavatory facilities are unavailable.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a feminine hygiene device that can be mass produced at low cost, and therefore provided either as a permanent or disposable item or for use in emergencies.

The foregoing as well as other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a feminine hygiene device which includes a tapering body portion possessing an upper rim that is adapted to contact the urethra. An elongated discharge tube is provided that communicates with l the body portion. The upper end of the body portion is in the shape of a mouth that is partly closed off by the presence of a lip whereby in use urine is directed into the mouth of the body portion to be discharged through the tube with the lip being positioned against the body to the rear in order to prevent any backward dripping of urine.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will become more readiy apparent by reference to the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a feminine hygiene device constituting a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing certain well known parts of the body including the bladder and the labia,

with the feminine hygiene device of FIG. 1 applied against the body in urination position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines 4--4 of FIG. 2.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts there is shown generally at 10 in FIG. 1 a feminine hygiene device constituting an embodiment of the invention. The device 10 comprises a body portion 12 having a mouth defined by a rim 13, with there also being an elongated discharge tube 14 extending away from the body portion. As further seen in FIG. 1 the interior wall 16 of the body portion 12 is converging in shape in order to make for a graceful transition to the passageway 18 in the discharge tube 12.

The mouth of the body portion 12 is partially closed by a lip 20 which serves not only to prevent the backward flow of urine, but as shown in FIG. 2, covers the vagina area.

The use of the feminine hygiene device 10 is shown in FIG. 2 as supplemented by the showing in FIG. 4 that indicates that the lip 20 is to be kept to the rear in order to block the vagina area. However, the urine is free to fiow from the bladder 22 through the labia 24 and into the mouth of the body portion 12, with backward flow of urine being blocked by edge 26 (FIG. 3) of the lip 20.

In use, the woman stands facing the toilet bowl or spot where shes wishes to urinate, and spreads the labia with the fingers of one hand and presses the body portion of the device against her body making sure that the urinary opening is within the mouth of the body portion 12. The lip 20 will be to the rear in the position of FIG. 2.

The woman can then urinate, directing the discharge of urine into the toilet bowl or other spot through the position of tube 14. Upon completion of urination, a slight downward motion of the tube will guarantee that it has been emptied. The feminine hygiene device can than be removed from the body without any dripping or spillage, and at no time is any portion of the feminine hygiene device ever inserted into any body opening.

It is preferred that the device 10 be made from a plastic, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, vinyl chloride, methylmethacrylate, nylon or other plastics as will occur to those skilled in the art. It is contemplated that the feminine hygiene device 10 be made from non-plastic materials such as fluid-proof paper, pulp and other well known non-plastic materials.

It should be noted from FIG. 2 that the discharge tube 14 is relatively elongated and is preferably at least as long as the depth of the body portion 12. Furthermore, while the discharge tube 14 has been shown (FIG. 3) as being generally axial with respect to rim 13, nevertheless, it is contemplated that the discharge tube may be inclined forwardly or even rearwardly, depending upon the desired ultimate direction of urine flow. For instance, for the collection of urine samples it may be desirable that the tube 14 be inclined so that the urine flow is essentially vertical, whereas, where the feminine hygiene device is primarily to be used in camping it may be desirable for the tube 14 to be inclined in more of a forward direction than is shown in FIG. 2 so that the woman can actually observe and direct the urine flow away from her. Thus, said discharge tube will be located in an axis that intersects the plane of said lip in an obtuse angle.

Furthermore, the material from which the feminine hygiene device is used should be somewhat flexible in order to accommodate the body contour, although it is believed that even rigid plastics can be used, particularly for a disposable device.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention, that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A feminine hygiene device comprising a tapering body portion in fluid communication with a discharge tube having an open end, said body portion having a mouth that is partially closed 01f by a lip whereby in use the device is pressed against the vaginal area so that the urinary opening is located within the mouth and said lip is located to the rear portion of the vaginal area to block the remainder of said vaginal area in order to prevent any backward dripping of urine, with the urine being directed into the discharge tube.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said discharge tube is axial with respect to said mouth.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said discharge tube is directed away from said lip and in a non-axial position with respect to said mouth.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said discharge References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,335,714 8/1967 Giesy 128-2. 3,351,050 11/1967 Naftolin 1282 3,432,863 3/1969 Schwartz 4-142 X 3,432,866 3/1969 Schwartz 41 10 3,473,172 10/1969 Friedman et al 4--110 3,512,185 5/1970 Ellis 4110 HENRY K. ARTIS, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 128267, 295 

